One of our new favorite local places to visit is Anaheim GardenWalk. Have you been there before? 
This outdoor dining, entertainment and shopping destination is situated in the heart of the Anaheim Resort District just steps from the Disneyland® Resort and Anaheim Convention Center, GardenWalk offers guests a variety of these popular restaurants:
- The Cheesecake Factory
- California Pizza Kitchen
- P.F. Chang’s
- Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
- McCormick & Schmick’s
- Grasslands Meat Market
- Fire + Ice Grill + Bar
- Roy’s Restaurant
- Johnny Rockets
- McFadden’s Restaurant and Saloon
- McMormick & Schmick’s Grill
GardenWalk also offers a vibrant nightlife, an escape room, a magic store and cabaret, trendy shops and an upscale bowling lounge. Some of the newest tenants to join the property include House of Blues Anaheim, Mission Escape Games, Artists Republic Gallery, and Go VR Gaming.
We were invited to spend a fun evening out at GardenWalk to experience “Rock the Walk”. a summer concert series. Rock the Walk, is a live music experience showcasing local artists and takes place on Thursdays from 5:30-7:30 p.m.through August 24. 
During Rock the Walk, guests can also enjoy free tastings from participating restaurants in the center, get free Henna, and enter giveaways. We listened to live music from Hoity Toity, an up and coming band that’s local.
There’s also a DJ on hand during Rock the Walk. It’s a great way to spend time outdoors, with family and friends, on Southern California summer nights. There’s a great ambiance at GardenWalk with many great art pieces, galleries, and murals to check out too, including great backdrops for photos.
We were also treated to a very special dinner that night at Fire + Ice Bar + Grill, which has got to be the coolest interactive grill I’ve ever experienced. The eatery welcomes diners of all ages and preferences, offering an incredible selection of fresh veggies, meats, pastas, seasonings and sauces. Their pro-grillers entertain the crowds as they sizzle up your culinary creation on an open grill. Here’s a fun video to give you an idea of what it’s like at Fire + Ice Bar + Grill:
It’s cool to be able to choose what you want to have for dinner, whether it be a noodle dish with an Asian flare or an Italian pasta or even a pizza cooked right there on the grill. You get to put together your creation and then watch the grillers prepare right in front of you!
Fire + Ice is such a fun place to go, especially at night when it gets on the busier side because the grill gets full and it’s super cool to watch the grillers juggle all of it while still having fun with guests. The food was delicious and the staff went above and beyond. We had a great experience at Fire + Ice.
Rock the Walk will take place on Thursdays through August 24. Here is a schedule of featured artists for Rock the Walk in August:
- Thursday,, August 3 – Katelyn Marie
- Thursday, August 10 – Tony Gomez
- Thursday, August 17 – Morgan Mallory
- Thursday, August 24 – HVNTED, presented by Music Forward
Anaheim GardenWalk is located at:
400 West Disney Way
Anaheim, CA 92802
For more information about Anaheim GardenWalk, please call 714.635.7410 or visit their site here.
In honor of the latest film release, Bounty has introduced limited-edition Bounty with new Despicable Me 3 prints paper towels and quilted napkins. They are so cute, you’ll want to stock up your cupboard with a plethora of them. Bounty paper towels and napkins make clean-up quick and fun!, especially now with the new Despicable Me 3 prints. My daughter and I tend to get a little messy in the kitchen together whenever we cook, bake, or make anything, so these durable paper towels really help us clean as we go. Making messes together is half the fun though, right? 
One of my (many) favorite parts about Despicable Me 3 is Agnes’ infatuation with unicorns. At the mere mention of the word “unicorn” she practically implodes! She’s beyond adorable when she talks about how they’re “just so fluffy”. We feel the exact same way about unicorns. I think people are drawn to unicorns because everything associated with them seems so happy and colorful. 
After seeing Despicable Me 3 in theaters, we were inspired to to spend an afternoon together, whipping up a batch of delicious “Unicorn Bait”. 
Bounty with new Despicable Me 3 prints are in stores just in time for Summer break with the kids and all the messy activities that come along with it! It was fairly simple to make this recipe and we only used 3 ingredients. (please see below for the exact recipe.)
Since I love the color pink and my daughter loves the color blue, we used both colors in the popcorn coating, mixing together to even get bits that looked marbled. I was happy to have Bounty paper towels nearby to help with our sticky fingers after all of the mixing of colored candy melts and popcorn. 
To make this recipe, you only need these few ingredients:
Not only is unicorn bait scrumptious, but legend has it that you can also leave some out in a small pile, to capture your very own unicorn! You just have to believe! 
After you make this sweet treat, keep the celebration going and be sure to check out Despicable Me 3 in theaters now! It’s rated PG and fun for the whole family.
I loved this movie as a child and was so excited to introduce my daughter and my nieces and nephews to it also.
The Signature Collection release, now available at retailers, contains a variety of new bonus material including:
I was delighted to received an amazing bundle of goodies in the mail from Disney to host my outdoor movie night. My bundle contained an AAXA P300 Pico/Micro LED Projector, an Ion Audio Tailgater Portable Bluetooth PA Speaker System with Microphone, an Apple Lightning Digital AV Adapter for iPhone, and a copy of Disney’s “Bambi” on Blu-Ray. I couldn’t wait to get started.
Setting up your own outdoor isn’t difficult. I promise. You can choose to project your movie onto on a light colored wall or garage, use a white sheet as a makeshift screen, or even purchase an inexpensive, portable movie screen. We opted for a wall to project ours onto.
Although the mini projector already has sound coming out of it, pairing it with the Ion Tailgater speaker system really amplified the sound, to make it even louder for the outdoors. This portable sounds system includes speakers, an amplifier, audio inputs, and wireless Bluetooth technology, all in one durable cabinet that has handles for easy transport and allows you to enjoy your music whenever and wherever you want. . (It also works with iPad, iPhone, iPod, Android devices and more.)
For our outdoor movie, I streamed the digital copy of “Bambi” on my phone by using the digital code inside the DVD on the Disney Movies Anytime app. (Do you have this app yet?) Since my laptop doesn’t have the capability to run an internal DVD, I just streamed the movie on my phone with Apple Lightning Digital AV Adapter and my phone hooked directly up to the projector. It was much easier than setting up a laptop anyway. 
Whenever we have a party or a get-together, we like to do something thematic. Hosting an outdoor movie doesn’t have to be complicated and you can get away with just serving simple snacks like popcorn and drinks. We decided to whip up a batch of “Bambi’s Favorite Snack Mix” which is just a few goodies mixed in with popcorn and served in these adorable Bambi bags that my daughter created out of simple brown lunch bags we had in our cupboard.
To make your own batch of “Bambi Snack Mix”, here are the ingredients you’ll need:
To recreate these Bambi snack bags, you’ll just need brown paper lunch bags, a black marker, scissors, a glue stick, and a cotton ball for each one.
Here’s a short time-lapse video showing how my daughter made a Bambi snack bag.
While we sipped on smoothies and feasted on banana pancakes, cereal, & yogurt parfaits, Duff spoke about his partnership with Bounty and “Despicable Me 3”. 
As a result of this partnership, you can find the most adorable line of Despicable Me 3 paper towels and napkins in stores now. (Hurry while supplies last though.)
Duff made a fabulous “Despicable Me 3” themed cake for the event, with frosting that resembled the new print of the paper towels. I wanted to touch the cake, but I held myself back. It was such a cool cake!
Kids in attendance at the event had the opportunity to create their own “Minion” cupcake toppers with Duff’s help. He guided them step-by-step to work with fondant to put together their own creations. 
I think the best part was when Duff passed out Minion cupcakes FOR BREAKFAST! Yep, he gave us all special permission to eat them that early in the morning! Duff is really a lot of fun to hang out with! (As you can see)
Following the breakfast, we proceeded upstairs to the iPic Theaters. (It’s attached to The Tuck Room.) We snuggled into luxurious leather recliners and wrapped ourselves in super soft blankets. 
It was such a perfect way to watch a movie and “Despicable Me 3” did not disappoint. I’m not a big fan of posting spoilers so I will just lightly touch on some of the things you already see in the trailer.
I swear I’ve fallen in love with Gru over the past 2 films, as he’s transitioned into (kind of) a good guy and meeting his long-lost twin brother, Dru, in this one, just adds to the fun. They are hilarious together. I also adore Gru’s girls, Margo, Edith, and Agnes, but especially Agnes and her obsession with ‘fluffy unicorns”. I won’t give away anything but I was a fan of how Gru’s wife,Lucy evolved, especially her placement within the family structure. 
Both adults and children will appreciate the 80’s style villain, “Balthazar Bratt” in this film. Personally, I couldn’t get enough of the music that would come on in his every scene and I couldn’t stop laughing at all of his dance moves. It was a definite nod to the 80’s.
Finally, you really can never grow tired of Minions and there are some cute Minion-involving scenes in this film, although you won’t see all of the ones from the first film. Overall, I really enjoyed watching “Despicable Me 3” with my family and I would definitely recommend it for other families with children of all ages. It’s just a light-hearted feel good film.
Have you seen “Despicable Me 3” yet? Let me know your thoughts.
We were so excited to get a sneak peek at the special. As fans of the American Girl brand, we love any and all things “American Girl”. I feel like this special sends a powerful message to all girls, which is what I love about all of the American Girl toy, books, and movies….they help to empower girls!
“An American Girl Story: Summer Camp, Friends for Life” is about friends Z (Zoe Manarel, The Nightingale) and Paz (Alison Fernandez, Logan) who arrive at S.T.E.A.M. camp excited for tech heaven. When the administrator(Camryn Manheim) surprises everyone by restricting their devices, they think their summer’s doomed. (No cell phone use is allowed.) 
Things take a mysterious turn when they meet Jordan (Monique Green, Marriage of Lies), an enchanting “counselor” who sends them on an adventure, opening them up to a world of possibilities, including befriending a third camper, Drew (Lauren Donzis, Liv and Maddie).
This special, directed by Alison McDonald (An American Girl Story – Melody 1963: Love Has to Win).
One of the reasons I was really drawn to this special was the emphasis on S.T.E.A.M.(Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math), as it related to girl. Females are often underrepresented in schools, in these subjects of study, and in the workplace, holding jobs in these fields, Teachers in elementary, middle and high schools currently encourage their female students to take interest in these areas of study and join in on S.T.E.A.M. focused activities and classes, in hopes of fostering their love for these areas and even motivating females to pursue further studies at the college level. I appreciated how the special even made mention of the first female civil engineer and the history of how S.T.E.A.M. came to be accessible to girls from all walks of life. S.T.E.A.M.is such an important topic!
An American Girl Story: Summer Camp, Friends for Life is available for Prime members to stream and enjoy using the Amazon Prime Video app for TVs, connected devices including Amazon Fire TV, and mobile devices, or online at 
Even more exciting news is that American Girl also announced plans to bring its newest contemporary character Z (short for Suzie) to life via a beautiful 18-inch doll, along with several outfits and accessories, like Z’s dog and scooter, as well as items that reflect her film making interests, including a camera, smartphone, and tripod. The Z doll will be available beginning today at the American Girl brand store at Amazon, through its award-winning American Girl catalogue andmericangirl.com, and at all American Girl retail locations nationwide.
Did you know….?
The Show: 
As you can see, children of all ages will marvel at the wacky and wonderful cast of characters that come alive in this exciting steampunk, science- fiction fantasy inspired circus odyssey!
Circus Vargas will be returning to Orange County to perform at 2 different locations. First at MainPlace in Santa Ana and then moving onto Great Park in Irvine. The schedule for the shows will be as follows:
Our family is beyond excited for the release of this film, which will be in theaters June 30! Despicable Me 3 shows us that “it’s good to be bad”! 
Immersive video projection and cutting-edge special effects will captivate and transport audiences across the universe from the fantastical Savage Land to New York City and beyond. Spider-Man and Wasp’s dynamic aerial stunts along with Captain America’s daring motorcycle skills will be on display in the ultimate race against time to save mankind.
The following is the schedule of performances for Southern California: